5 Best Callaway Irons: Reviews and Buyer’s Guide

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Callaway is one of, if not the top, golf company in the game. They make equipment, clothing, tech gear, and more to make golf a better and more enjoyable sport for the mid to high handicap golfer. Callaway makes some products for lower handicappers, but the core of their target market is the mid handicap player. Callaway has an impressive line of clubs out on the market right now, and they are certainly worth considering if you are shopping for some new clubs. Here are our favorite Callaway irons.


THE Best Callaway Irons

  • Mavrik Max (Best For Average Golfer)
    "The Callaway Mavrik has a very forged like feel for a cavity back iron. The 360 Face cup technology combined with the artificial intelligence and the flash face help to give average golfers ball speed they never dreamed of. ."
  • Big Bertha B21 (Best For High Handicappers)
    "The High Handicap golfer is in luck with the brand new Big Bertha B21 release. This iron is about as forgiving as a golf club can get and will start to turn you from a high handicapper into a mid handicapper."
  • APEX PRO 19 (Best For Low Handicapper)
    "Callaway does not put out too many irons for the lowest handicap golfers. When they do, it’s usually a very good set. The Apex Pro 19 is a classic looking golf iron with a modern Tour shape and that thin top line that the best players need."
  • Big Bertha Combo Set (Best For Senior)
    "It is not the latest release but potentially one of the best looking sets of irons that Callaway has ever produced. The Big Bertha is a perfect combo set to help senior golfers get their game back."
  • Women’s Rogue (Best For Women)
    "The Rogue Women’s Irons are built for maximum performance even without high swing speeds. These clubs offer the 360 Face Cup technology with lots of distance, accuracy, and playability."


Best Callaway Irons

Mavrik Max

Best For Average Golfer

Mavrik Max

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KEY FEATURES

  • High performing clubface
  • Great sound and feel
  • Lots of distance
  • Very high ball speeds
  • Still not a forged iron, can’t work the ball as much as you can a forged club

At the top of our list are the Callaway Mavrik Irons. There is no debating the fact that this is a high performing set of game improvement irons. If you are struggling with your game and feel like you should be performing at a much higher level, the Mavrik is worth looking into.

For the first time, Callaway used artificial intelligence to create a golf iron, and the results are impressive. The Mavrik has a low center of gravity, an excellent feel, and lots of loft as well. You will be able to launch the ball and have it land softly on the green as well.

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The urethane microspheres included in the clubhead help golfers to get an incredible feel while not sacrificing any distance. If you like to hit the ball long and straight, the Mavrik Irons are a great choice. The Mavrik Max is slightly more oversized and would work well for a higher handicap player. 


Big Bertha B21

Best For High Handicappers

KEY FEATURES

  • Easy to launch
  • Good ball speed
  • Forgiving iron
  • Built for golfers that need the most help
  • New release so priced a little high

The B21 is a brand new release, and golfers are already saying they are feeling the performance differences that this club has to offer. The B21 is an offset design that is built to give golfers more ball speed, lots of launch, and overall straighter golf shots.

When a higher handicapper stands over this golf ball, it looks as though it is going to help you get the ball in the air and on the green. Golfers have come to know the Callaway golf Big Bertha line as one of the more players friendly clubs on the market. Well Callaway has brought that back, and we must admit it is impressive. 

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The incorporation of the Flash Cup Face that you saw in a few of the more recent releases has only been improved. What we find most impressive about the B21 irons is the fact that they feel so good. Generally speaking, an offset game improvement iron will not feel great for better players. These really do! That will help make this purchase last you longer, and it will be a club you can use as a mid handicapper as well.


APEX PRO 19

Best For Low Handicapper

KEY FEATURES

  • Great players feel
  • Thin top line
  • Still gives plenty of distance
  • Long irons are very hard to hit

Callaway is not known for putting out a lot of choices for players irons. However, when they do, it is usually a very good choice. The Apex Pro 19 is a high performing, soft feeling iron that looks sleek. The short irons have lots of control, and you can spin and move the golf ball with these clubs in your hand.

As always, the more players looking designs are going to be the least forgiving of the club, and that certainly holds true on the Apex Pro 19. If you are not a great player, you may want to stick with something a bit more forgiving.

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The Apex 19 gives players control over the trajectory of the shot, but overall this is a lower launching golf iron. The Apex 19 would fit into a category of irons called a player’s distance iron. Without sacrificing workability and feel, you can still hit these clubs a long way.


Big Bertha Combo Set

Best For Senior

KEY FEATURES

  • Great for the senior golfer who needs forgiveness
  • Really good looking set of irons
  • Easy to launch
  • A combo set is the way to go for a senior golfer
  • A bit on the thicker side

If you have been reading our reviews, you know how strongly we feel about seniors’ combo set choices. The Big Bertha Combo set is not the latest release from Callaway, but it is undoubtedly one of our favorites.

The Black PVD finish on these clubs has them truly standing out, and they help to keep the glare down on those really sunny days. This is a forged feeling iron with the performance capabilities of a cavity back.

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For senior golfers, it makes a big difference to hit the ball close to the hole. Having irons that are workable and will allow you to attack a pin is very important; that is certainly the case with these Big Bertha Combo irons. You will get great spin and feel around the greens and lots of distance on the longer clubs and hybrids.


Women’s Rogue

Best For Women

KEY FEATURES

  • Urethane microspheres for great feel
  • 360 Face cup technology
  • Replace the long irons with hybrids clubs
  • A forgiving cavity back design
  • Very fair pricing
  • The sound is not as great as the Mavrik irons

The Callaway Rogue irons bring the 360 Face Cup and VFT technology to women’s golf. These two high performing types of technology allow for maximum performance on the club face. If you hit the center of the club head, you will get some really great distance and performance; if you miss the center, your misses will still be acceptable.

The Callaway Golf Rogue irons for women are built to help give slower swing speeds the distance that they need. These are very lightweight irons that are certainly considered to be in the game improvement category. If you lack ball speed and distance, the Rogue is a great choice. 

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We highly recommend going with the combo set of the women’s irons. The combo set will eliminate the long irons and gives players forgiving and easy to hit hybrids instead. This is a great choice for the female golfer.

Last, it is worth mentioning that the center of gravity is very low on the Rogue irons, which will help those women golfers that struggle to get the ball up in the air. If you feel as though you should be getting more height from your shots, the Rogue is a great choice.


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Callaway golf clubs are great, they are played on tour, and they are played by millions of golfers every day. Knowing which Callaway iron is the right fit for your golf game takes a little more investigation.

What Makes Callaway Irons Great?

Callaway has always worked to appeal to the player that needed them the most. When the Big Bertha line of golf clubs came out more than twenty years ago, the idea was that they would make the game easier on the average player and that they have done.

For those that don’t like Callaway, chances are the size of the club head is just too big for you. Callaway golf has been known for making a bit more of a clunky head and staying away from the thinner player’s look. This has become kind of standard, and for some, it is not a negative. 

What Are The Best Callaway Irons For Beginners?

Beginners can benefit from several of the Callaway iron choices that are currently on the market. The Big Bertha B21 stand out as the best because of their brand new technology, next would be the Mavrik Max, and the Rogue fall just behind the Mavrik. The Callaway Rogue irons are a design from last year, but they still offer lots of distance and forgiveness at a very fair price point.

Does Callaway Come Out With New Irons Every Year?

Callaway golf will release at least one new set of irons each year. The irons they put out will sometimes be built for the higher scoring players, and sometimes it will be a release of players irons.

The difference from one set of Callaway golf irons to the next is sometimes relatively small. For instance, if you have the Rogue irons, upgrading to the Mavrik, you will only notice a subtle difference. When you skip three or more years between a set, that is when you see large changes in the design and the feel of the club. 


Testing Criteria used for evaluation

By now, you hopefully have it narrowed down to which set of Callaway irons would be the best fit for your game. The next step is to make sure you pick the correct specifications on that set of irons you choose.

Shaft

Callaway irons are available in a wide range of both stock and custom shafts. You can get anything from a very lightweight graphite shaft to a heavy and stiff steel shaft. Base your shaft decision in your irons on the club head speed. It is ok if the club head speed you measure is for your driver, which can usually be converted over and give you a good number for your irons as well.

Golfers that need to hit the ball further are going to want to choose the graphite shafts. They are easy to launch and get more distance. Those that hit the ball plenty high and just want to control the ball more should opt for the steel.

Club Head Type

The majority of Callaway irons on the market are a cavity back design. If you want something that is forged, you would have to look at the Apex 19 irons. Keep in mind that forged and blade type irons are not going to be nearly as forgiving as the cavity back choices. Choose an iron that suits your game not just right now but for the next five years. You will want to commit to keeping a set for at least that long

Set Makeup

Unless you are a lower handicap player, it doesn’t make sense to try and carry long irons in your bag. Taking the long irons out and putting some hybrids in the bag is a much smarter decision. Many golfers are realizing that the three, four, and sometimes five iron are not consistent or reliable enough for them to hit anymore. Keeping your short irons and replacing the longer ones with hybrids is entirely acceptable and a smart decision to make.


Conclusion

NAMEEDITOR'S CATEGORYPRODUCT
Mavrik MaxBest For Average GolferMavrik Max
Big Bertha B21Best For High HandicappersBig Bertha B21
APEX PRO 19Best For Low HandicapperAPEX PRO 19
Big Bertha Combo SetBest For SeniorBig Bertha Combo Set
Women’s RogueBest For WomenWomen’s Rogue

Hopefully, our guide outlining the best Callaway golf irons on the market has helped to give you a better feel for what is out there to choose from. We can’t say that there is an overall best because the type of iron you choose will largely depend on your golf game, and your ability to hit the ball. If you are really undecided about which set of clubs to go with, the Callaway Mavrik irons really appeal to a wide range of players and stand out as the top game improvement irons in the game today.

Brittany Olizarowicz
Brittany Olizarowicz

Britt Olizarowicz started playing golf at the age of 7. She played Division 1 College golf at St.Johns University, where she won two tournaments at the collegiate level. After college Britt became a Class A PGA Professional, her love for the game spans almost her entire life. Today Britt loves sharing her knowledge of golf through her writing. She also has two young children to who she is enjoying introducing the game.

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